i/t/ /^ 







INAUGURAL ADDRESS 



K HON. ALBERT GALLATIN, LL. D. 3 



ON TAKING THE CHAIU AS 



PRESIDENT 



NEW.YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 



Tl.ESDAY EVLNING, FEB. 7 




N E W . Y O 



PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY, 

BY jAMi:s p. \vnii;iir, 41 mne street. 



INAUGURAL ADDRESS 



HON. ALBERT GALLATIN, LL. D 



o V r A K I \ i; T n e c h a i r as 



PRESIDENT 



NEW.YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY, 



TIIKSDAY KVENING, FEU. 7111. 1813. 



N E W - ^- O R K : 

P II I N '1- K IJ V O R T HE S O CM 1-; '1' Y , 

IIV JAMtS P. WRICllT, 41 PINE STKKKT. 

1848. 



Fil6 
. /V67 



-:? 



At the regular Monthly Meeting of the New- York Historical Society, 
held at the Historical Rooms in the University of the City of New-York, on 
Tuesday evening, 7th February, 1843, the Honorable Albert Gallatin, on 
taking the Chair as President, read an Inaugural Address. 

Whereupon, on motion of John W. Francis, M. D., it was unanimously 

Resolved, That the thanks of the Society be presented to the President for 
his able and instructive Address, and that a copy be requested for publication. 

An extract from the Minutes, 

Attest— JOHN JAY, 

Recording Secretary. 






ADDRESS. 



Gentlemen, 

I return you my thanks for the honour you have 
been pleased to confer on me. Yet, at my advanced age, 
with a feeble health and impaired faculties, I can only be 
the nominal President of this Society ; and, in addressing 
you on this occasion, I am unable to offer to your considera- 
tion any but some crude observations of a general nature. 

The history of the inhabitants of European descent of the 
United States is naturally divided into two Periods, under 
the Colonial Government, and since they became an Inde- 
pendent Nation. The most conspicuous portion of our an- 
nals is that which unites those two Periods, the transition 
from one to the other. In my view of the subject, it com- 
prehends near thirty years, embracing not only those of ac- 
tual warfare, but also the controversy which preceded it, and 
the establishment of a National Government, which com- 
pleted the Revolution. 

This great event differs, in the manner in which it was 
effected, in its origin, its object, and its results, from every 
other Revolution on record. It was not accompanied by the 
disorders, or polluted by the excesses, usual concomitants of 
civil contests ; and it almost immediately assumed the char- 
acter of a foreign, instead of a civil war. It was compara- 



lively attended but with few changes in the laws and social 
state, in the political and religious institutions of the coun- 
try. It has appeared to me, that its principal characteristic 
consists in the happy union of the love of liberty and inde- 
pendence, with that of order and a profound respect for law ; 
that this National feature may be traced to the first settle- 
ment of the country, and that it has continued to exert a 
most beneficial influence to this day. This is the topic 
which I wish briefly to illustrate. 

It was under that influence that, in all the remonstrances 
against those acts of Great Britain which preceded the war of 
Independence, the Americans neither alluded to the restraints 
and inconveniences of the Colonial Government, as it existed 
prior to those acts, nor appealed to the indefeasible Rights of 
Men. They only claimed those rights, to which they were 
entitled as British subjects, and such as had till then been 
uniformly recognized. Even, when stating, in the Declara- 
tion of Independence, the grievances and oppressive acts 
which compelled them to dissolve the Union with Great 
Britain, the enumeration is confined to those which had oc- 
curred since the accession of the reigning King. 

It was only when no other means were left for redress, 
than a separation from the British Empire, and when a resort 
to physical force and actual war had already taken place, 
that, in declaring their Independence, they asserted the 
principle, " That men were created equal, and were endowed 
by their Creator with certain inalienable rights ; that Gov- 
ernments derived their just rights from the consent of the 
governed ; and that whenever any form of Government be- 
came destructive of these ends, it was the right of the people 
to alter or abolish it, and to institute a new Government." 

These fundamental principles have been recognised in all 



our Constitutions, and are considered as incontestible by 
every American. On such momentous an event, as that of 
the dissokition of the common Government by which Great 
Britain and America were united, an appeal to these princi- 
ples was absolutely necessary, both in order to justify the 
act and for the purpose of embodying the whole Nation in its 
support. It is believed that it will be found, that this is the 
only occasion in the American history, on which a practical 
application of those principles has been resorted to ; and that 
all the alterations and modifications of our internal institu- 
tions, whether general or local, religious or political, have, 
from the first settlement of the country, been eflfected with- 
out violence, without resort to physical force, and uniformly 
in conformity with the forms prescribed by the existing Laws 
or Constitutions. 

In the several State Constitutions, contemporaneous with 
the Declaration of Independence, hardly any innovation was 
made in the internal existing institutions, which was not 
rendered necessary by that act. They relate principally to 
the organization of the Executive department, or to such 
other powers as had theretofore been exercised by the 
British Government. 

A strong proof of the assertion, that the primary, if not 
the sole immediate object of the Revolution, was a dissolu- 
tion of the British connexion, and not a change in the inter- 
nal institutions of the country, is to be found in the remark- 
able fact, that two of the Colonies did not find it necessary 
to establish any new Constitution, and remained, at that 
time and during a half century longer, under the form of 
government established by the Charters which they had 
received from Great Britain. The reason of this is obvious. 
The Crown had not, in the Charters of Connecticut and 



Rhode Island, reserved to itself, either any control over the 
acts of internal policy emanating from the Colonial Legis- 
lative Bodies, or even any share in the Executive Power. 
In neither, did the laws made by their own Legislatures re- 
quire the Regal sanction ; and, in both, the selection of the 
Executive Magistrate and Council, instead of belonging to 
the King, was left to the Colonies themselves. Both might 
almost have been considered as republics under the protec- 
tion of Great Britain ; subject, however, to the general Co- 
lonial restraints over their commerce, and to the condition, 
that their laws should not be contrary and repugnant to 
those of England. And as these restraints and that condi- 
tion were abrogated by the act of Independence itself, no- 
thing more was necessary at the time, on the part of those 
two Colonies, than their adhesion to that act, and their co- 
operation in carrying it into effect. 

Another reason may indeed be adduced for the adherence 
to those Charters, but in no respect inconsistent with that 
which has now been assigned. During the general warfare 
carried on, towards the end of the reign of Charles the 
Second, against Charters generally, those of Connecticut 
and Rhode Island had been preserved, and they were on 
that account held in special veneration. 

But however limited may have been the immediate ob- 
ject of the American Revolution, its great and general influ- 
ence is well known. After a lapse of years, the Consti- 
tutions which had been at first adopted, had ceased to 
harmonize, in some respects, with the national feelings and 
character. It is believed, that there is hardly a single one 
which has not been altered or modified. A critical exami- 
nation of that branch of the subject cannot be expected on 
this occasion. I will confine myself to a few States, and to 



a single point. In every instance known to me, the right of 
suffrage has been extended and the inequaUties of represen- 
tation have been corrected. I may speak with certainty in 
reference to the States of New-York, Pennsylvania, Mary- 
land, Virginia, and South Carolina. 

In all of them, either the one or the other, in some, both 
those objects have been effected. And, in every instance, 
without exception, these and all the other alterations which 
have taken place, have been made, not only in the most or- 
derly manner, but in perfect conformity with the Constitu- 
tion or laws previously existing. 

Thus, for instance, in Virginia, the inequality of repre- 
sentation, and the injustice of confining the right of suffrage 
to freeholders, which had been denounced sixty years ago, 
had at last become a subject of general complaint. The 
parties aggrieved did nothing more than remonstrate and 
persevere in their remonstrances. It is but few years, since 
both evils were corrected by a Convention convoked for 
that special purpose ; and the members of that Convention 
were elected in conformity with the provisions of the old 
Constitution ; that is to say, by freeholders alone, and ac- 
cording to the old and defective rule of representation, which 
gave to every county, however differing in population, the 
same number of delegates. Thus, on the one hand, those 
who were aggrieved used no other weapon than the right 
of petition, and, on the other, those who were in the exclu- 
sive possession of power, spontaneously yielded to public 
opinion and to a sense of justice. 

That, which has now been said of Virginia, is equally 
true with respect to all the States, whose Constitutions have 
been altered, and in reference to all the alterations which 



8 

have been made, whether for the purposes above stated, or 
for any other object. It is equally true of at least one of 
the States which had no other Constitutions but their Char- 
ters. Notwithstanding the well-known attachment of the 
people of Connecticut to their ancient customs, the requisite 
change was effected in that State, in the same orderly man- 
ner and through the same means. There has been every- 
where a salutary and peaceable reform, no where a revo- 
lution. 

A still more difficult task had been previously performed. 
The several British Colonies of America had been bound 
together by no other legal tie than as being members of the 
same Empire. When the separation took place, this was 
dissolved ; and each Colony became, and considered itself, 
a distinct and independent sovereign State. United by a 
common and imminent danger, they succeeded in asserting 
and obtaining independence, without the aid of a Central 
efficient Government. The inefficiency became apparent 
as soon as the danger was removed. But the difficulty of 
inducing thirteen independent States voluntarily to surren- 
der a part of their sovereignty was immense. We all know 
the steady opposition to any such concession, by Holland, so 
long as she was a Republic, — by Switzerland to this day. 
The general tendency of Republics has ever been subdi- 
vision rather than union ; and we see a striking proof of it 
in the new States of Spanish America. I cannot call to my 
recollection any other instance, in the history of mankind, 
but that of these States, in which such a voluntary surrender 
of sovereignty has taken place. It was effected here, not- 
withstanding the efforts of those whose personal interests 
and influence were affected by the change, and notwith- 
standing the honest opposition of many sincere patriots, who 
apprehended a complete consolidation and a total subver- 



sioii of local laws, of local institutions, and of State rights. 
I verily believe that, if much longer delayed, our happy 
Union would have become impossible. 

But it is less the event itself, than the manner in which it 
was accomplished, that comes within the scope of that view 
of the subject, to which I have been desirous to call your 
attention. That wonderful change was eftected, precisely 
in the same orderly manner, as the reforms of the several 
State Constitutions. No other weapons were used but ar- 
gument ; and the assent of each State separately, was suc- 
cessively obtained, through the medium of Conventions 
freely elected in each State for that special purpose. A 
universal acquiescence in the will of the People, thus regu- 
larly expressed, immediately followed. And the establish- 
ment of a General Government, for general and national pur- 
poses, substituted for the analogous Powers which Great 
Britain had formerly exercised, was the end and completion 
of the American Revolution. 

Far different was the immediate result of those in other 
countries, which we have seen, or which are best known to 
us. Whether m England, in France, or hi Spanish America, 
they all did, for a while at least, terminate in Military Des- 
potism. When recollecting, or viewing those usurpations 
by military chiefs, every American must return his humble 
thanks to the kind Providence, which, instead of a Crom- 
well or a Bonaparte, blessed the people of these States 
with a WashinCxTon. Nothing I might say can add to the 
reputation of that great and good man. But, as it cannot be 
doubted that there were virtuous and patriotic men in other 
countries, and some of an opposite character in this, it be- 
lomrs to my subject to inquire into the causes which, in the 
natural course of events, led to this result. 
2 



10 

What was the particular characteristic which, more than 
any other, distinguished General Washington, and enabled 
him to exercise such beneficial influence over the destinies 
of his country ? Not any extraordinary amount of acquired 
knowledge : he was neither a classical scholar, nor a man 
of science. Nor was he endowed either with those splendid 
powers of eloquence, which have elevated many of our dis- 
tinguished citizens to their stations, nor with those other 
qualifications more showy than solid, which generally dazzle 
mankind. It is a most rare occurrence in the pages of his- 
tory ; it is most refreshing, it is the glory of America, that 
his was the superiority of Virtue, in his public career, of 
Political Virtue. A profound, I had almost said, an innate 
sense of Justice ; on all public occasions, a perfect control 
over his naturally strong passions ; above all, a most com- 
plete and extraordinary self-abnegation. When called upon 
to decide, it is not enough to say, that the effect, which the 
decision might have on his future prospects, on his popular- 
ity to which he was not insensible, on posthumous fame 
which he cherished, yielded to a sense of Justice and a re- 
gard for the public good. Personal consequences and con- 
siderations were not even thought of ; they never crossed his 
mind ; they were altogether obliterated. And yet these, and 
his other eminent qualifications, would not, alone, have been 
sufficient to produce the great and general results to which 
I have alluded. 

There have been, at times, men who were in advance of 
their age : some threw seeds which in due time fructified ; 
and their labors have been appreciated by posterity : but, in 
their own times, they produced no effect. It is believed, 
that no man who has taken an active part in the affairs of 
this world, ever acquired a paramount influence over his 
contemporaries, who did not represent the opinions and feel- 



11 

ings of the nation which he governed. If it be permitted 
to Man to glory in any thing, the Americans have a right to 
be proud of Washington ; less on account of his having 
been born amongst them, than because he was selected, and, 
during his whole career, sustained by the people ; because 
they adhered to him in war and in peace, under the most 
adverse circumstances as well as in prosperity. Never could 
he have been thus chosen and constantly supported, had 
he not been the type and representative of the American 
People. 

He, his associates, the generation in which he lived, had 
all been born and educated, and their habits, opinions, and 
character had been formed under the Colonial Government. 
It is to our Colonial history that we must resort, for the pur- 
pose of understanding how the National character was 
formed and gradually modified. 

Chroniclers generally take notice only of the most con- 
spicuous events of their times : but the occurrences of every 
day are not adverted to. We have abundant documents 
concerning the Indian and foreign wars ; in most States, but 
few which throw any light on internal life and manners, or 
even on the gradual modifications in their opinions and habits, 
which had made the Americans what they were when the 
war of Independence took place. To collect and cause to 
be published every public record, or other relic which may 
add to our information on that important subject, is one of 
the principal objects of this Society. Yet enough is already 
known, to enable us to trace to the first settlers of the Colo- 
nies, the primary causes of that characteristic feature which 
is the subject of this address. 

A few emigrants to a land inhabited only by Savage Tribes, 



12 

in many instances without any assistance from the Govern- 
ment of their native country^ found it absolutely necessary 
to establish some regulations, some form of Government 
among themselves. United by a community of interest, 
with no striking inequality amongst themselves, and soon 
brought to the same level by the situation in which they 
were placed, their first regulations must necessarily have 
been founded on the principle of equal rights. But those 
emigrants came also from that country which must be ac- 
knowledged to have, even at that time, enjoyed the best form 
of government then existing. They brought with them the 
trial by jury and the germ of an equal representative gov- 
ernment. 

Nor must the debt of gratitude be denied v^^here it is just- 
ly due. In all the British Colonies of this Continent, whe- 
ther in those already alluded to, or in those known by the 
name of regal or proprietary, representative Assemblies, 
elected by the people, were, from the beginning of coloniza- 
tion, everywhere established, to whom the power was con- 
ceded to tax themselves, to manage the internal affairs of 
the Colony, and to make such laws as to them should seem 
best adapted to its situation. And although this power was, 
in most Colonies, subject to the approbation of the Crown, 
and this was often injuriously exercised, yet, so far at least 
as respected the internal concerns of the Colonies, it might 
prevent, but did not impose new laws. 

All the Colonies were not originally settled by English 
emigrants. This State is the principal exception ; and it 
most Providentially happened, that its first settlers came 
from the only other European country, whence emigrants 
could come, in which the principles of liberty, though under 
a different form, were alreadv recognized and established. 



13 

May I be permitted to add, with perfect good will to- 
wards all, without the slightest allusion to dogmas and mat- 
ters of faith, in reference only to temporal concerns and to 
the freer expansion of the faculties of man, that it was a 
most propitious circumstance, that all the first settlers should 
have come from Protestant countries. 

A thorough examination of the laws first passed in all the 
several Colonies, and of their successive modifications, whe- 
ther carried into effect or prevented by the Crown, appears to 
me necessary in order to understand the gradual formation of 
the national character. My own opportunities in that re- 
spect have extended only to the Colonial laws of two of the 
States. Some of these do not harmonize with the public 
opinion of this day : but all of them bear the impress of 
having been respectively adapted to the situation of the 
country, and in accordance with the general habits and 
feelings of the times. The habitual submission to law, 
which indubitably existed at the time of the Revolution, 
affords a conclusive proof, that the Colonial laws, considered 
as a whole, had been fitted to the occasions, had won the 
aflfections, and commanded the veneration of the people. 

The age of nations is not counted by years but by genera- 
tions. Their education, if I may use the term, is the work 
of time. An immediate transition from slavery to liberty is 
impracticable. In all the revolutions which have taken 
place in our own time, in countries which had been governed 
by physical force, or by partial and unequal laws, odious to 
the people at large, the greatest excesses and convulsions 
have ensued whenever that physical force was withdrawn. 
A few enlightened and patriotic men were wholly unequal 
to the task of converting at once into freemen a People 



14 

educated under such a government as that which had been 
established in Spanish An:ierica. 

The inhabitants of these States had, on the contrary, from 
the first settlement of the country, acquired the habit, in 
their Representative Assemblies, in their Town and County 
Meetings, to discuss and to have a share in the management 
of their public concerns. They had learned the difficult art 
to know how, they had become capable to govern them- 
selves. And from the time when Independence was de- 
clared, they have, unrestrained by any external control, 
exercised that power. 

Instead of those convulsions which had seemed to be the 
unavoidable consequence of any great Revolution, America 
presented the spectacle of a Confederation of extensive and 
powerful Republics, voluntarily strengthening their bond of 
Union, and peaceably settling under regular and orderly In- 
stitutions. Governments were exhibited, from which every 
trace of hereditary authority had been expunged, in which 
all the Powers emanated from the People, under which a 
more unrestrained freedom of action was left to individuals 
than had ever been supposed to be safe or practicable ; and 
which, in practice, were just towards other Nations, faithful 
to their engagements, wisely and efficiently administered 
without the aid of a standing army, and without being sus- 
tained by any other coercive means than the moral force of 
Law. Here was a country, where, during a period of near 
sixty years, it had not been found necessary to suspend in a 
single instance that palladium of personal liberty, the writ of 
habeas corpus, and where not a single drop of blood had 
been shed on the scaffold for political offences ; where also 
the most unlimited liberty of conscience was allowed, and 
Religion, neither aided, disturbed, or corrupted by an alii- 



15 

ance with Political Institutions, was left to stand on the Rock 
of its own unshakeable foundation ; and where, at the same 
time, a profound religious feeling pervaded and influenced 
the whole community. America justly became, for all 
liberal minds a subject of exultation, wherever liberty pene- 
trated a model for imitation, everywhere the hope of man- 
kind. 

An attempt to inquire into the duties imposed on our 
legislators, into the principles of legislation necessary 
for preserving the veneration in which Law is held, and 
for ensuring a continuance of those unparalleled blessings, 
would carry me far beyond the scope of this address. Yet 
I ask your indulgence for some desultory remarks, perhaps 
necessary in order that I may not be misunderstood. 

If it be unjustifiable, unless for the most important pur- 
poses, and when no other means remain of obtaining re- 
dress, to resort to an appeal to the People in their primary 
capacity, and to incur the risks of civil war and of a disso- 
lution of the State ; we find on the other hand, in the history 
of the world, abundant proofs, that, in almost every case, 
those convulsions had their origin in the ambition, the cu- 
pidity, or the obstinacy of those who happened to have en- 
grossed all the powers of the State. Our own experience 
teaches us that, under our Institutions, Revolutions may 
always be prevented by timely and spontaneous reforms. 
And the provisions now generally inserted in our Constitu- 
tions, for obtaining by an orderly process the alterations that 
may become necessary, would seem to have removed the 
danger of a resort to any other means. 

Power is ever apt to corrupt those who arc in possession 
of it. The danger of its being abused necessarily lies, under 



16 

every form of government, in that quarter where the Su- 
premacy resides. Although the fundamental principle of 
our Institutions protects us against the most fruitful and 
common causes of oppression, it cannot alone afford at all 
times perfect security. A perfect form of government and 
a perfect administration are unattainable by imperfect crea- 
tures. A majority may err ; it may oppress the minority ; 
and the Representative may abuse his trust. We must ex- 
pect and submit to temporary excitements and aberrations. 
But the principle, that all Powers should emanate from the 
People, is not a question of expediency : it is a natural right. 
And we may hope, that, as such, it will ever be found to 
contain within itself a sufficient remedy for the abuses to 
which it is liable. 

Absolute dominion cannot be safely lodged any where : 
but delegated Power may be restricted and divided. Some 
restrictions have been laid by our Constitutions on the Le- 
gislative body, and others might perhaps be advantageously 
added. Under no circumstances, should unlimited authority 
be entrusted to any one body of men. " The concentration 
of all the powers of Government in the same hands is des- 
potism." The Legislative Body, which prescribes the gen- 
eral rule, should not be permitted either to apply it, or to 
make exceptions for special cases, for or against particular 
classes. Legislation should be limited to its own sphere, 
imposing only necessary and salutary restraints, not harrass- 
ing and disgusting individuals by multiplied innovations and 
regulations at best of doubtful utility, and not interfering in 
the management of their own concerns, with the free action 
of men, unless where it infringes the rights of others. 

But I perceive that I am insensibly led into minute de- 
tails. It may not be possible to reduce to a single principle 



17 

the duties of Legislators. If there be one, to wliich there 
is no exception, to which all others are subordinate, from 
which almost all others seem naturally to flow, it is a strict 
adherence to Justice. It is hardly possible, that laws found- 
ed in justice should be oppressive, unequal or special. Every 
deviation from that principle, in whatever shape or under 
whatever pretence, successively leads to others : so that it 
might ultimately happen, that no scruple would be felt in 
passing iniquitous laws, that public and private confidence 
might be destroyed, respect for Law be converted into con- 
tempt, and the basis of our institutions be shaken in its foun- 
dation, by the general demoralization of the whole commu- 
nity. The lawgivers need never fear to confide in the sense 
of justice of the People. There they will find a responding 
chord ; for, in every human heart has God implanted that 
consciousness, which makes him a responsible agent, and if 
not perverted by his own passions, by his rulers, or his 
guides, enables and induces him to prefer right to wrong. 
In every ascertained instance where a contrary result has 
occurred in the United States, its origin may be traced to 
some antecedent course of Legislation, corrupt, unjust, or 
extravagant. In many cases, reckless expenditure and the 
abuse of public credit have been sufficient, ultimately to im- 
pair the moral feeling of the People, Abroad, they have, in 
one instance, been the immediate cause of a great Revolu- 
tion. 

In tracing this hasty and imperfect sketch, I have confined 
myself almost exclusively to a review of the great efiects 
produced by that respect for law, which distinguishes the 
American People, and is so habitual that we may not be fully 
sensible of its inestimable advantages : and 1 have not ad- 
verted to other causes, which have co-operated in the forma- 
tion of the National character and of our political Institu- 



18 

tions. But I cannot conclude, without reminding you, that 
no nation was ever placed in a situation so favorable to the 
establishment of a Government founded in justice and on 
equal rights, and for accomplishing the object for which they 
seem to have been selected, than the People of the United 
States. Let us never forget that, to that Divine Providence 
which guided the steps of the first emigrants to this land, 
and which has ever since protected us in such special and 
visible manner, we are indebted for all those blessings, for 
that extraordinary prosperity, that vast increase of popula- 
tion and power, of which we are too apt to boast. Let it be 
impressed on this generation, that they are bound by the 
most solemn duty, by the most sacred obligation to their 
Country and to their God, to preserve and transmit, unim- 
paired, to posterity, the invaluable inheritance which they 
have received from their ancestors. 



NEW- YORK HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 



This Society was originally formed in the city of New- York, 
in the year 1804, by the association of several patriotic gentlemen 
for the purpose of collecting and preserving " whatever may relate to 
the natural, civil, literary and ecclesiastical history of the United 
States in general, and of the State of New- York in particular." Among 
its founders and other early members were eminent divines, illustrious 
statesmen, and distinguished jurists, together with others not less es- 
teemed in their day for professional skill, literary taste, and classical or 
scientific acquirements. The institution was regarded with great favor 
by the public, and considerable appropriations have been made by the 
State Legislature to further its objects. By the means thus afforded, 
and the liberal contributions of individuals, a valuable library has been 
acquired, consisting of a great number of books and manuscripts relating 
to the history and antiquities of this continent, and embracing a large 
proportion of works more particularly connected with the annals of our 
own country. An extensive cabinet of coins and medals, both modern 
and antique ; many busts and portraits of eminent men ; and a fine col- 
lection of objects of curiosity, deriving interest from their rarity or an- 
tiquity, are also amongst the treasures amassed by the Society during 
the earlier period of its existence, to which no inconsiderable accessions 
have been made of late years. 

The condition of the Society at the present time is iiighly flourishing ; 
and it continues to enjoy, in a remarkable degree, the favor of the public. 
The contributions it iias been enabled to make by its printed publications 



20 

towards the collection of historical materials, of a general as well as a 
local character, have served to enhance its claims to consideration both 
at home and abroad. Occupying an extensive suite of rooms in the 
noble edifice of the New- York University, its Library and Cabinet are 
the constant resort of the members and strangers, especially of all en- 
gaged in historical studies, to whom it offers greater facilities than any 
other similar institution in our country. 

By the recommendation of the Society, the State Legislature has re- 
cently printed an invaluable mass of documents illustrative of the early 
part of our revolutionary annals, commencing with the first organized 
resistance to the colonial authorities, and ending whh the journals of the 
convention that framed the constitution of independent State govern- 
ment ; comprising also the period of the invasion of our territory by 
General Burgoyne, and his glorious defeat and surrender on the plains 
of Saratoga. During this period the authorities of New- York bore an 
active part in the campaigns against the public enemy, and the memo- 
rials of their unceasing labors at that important crisis, with a hostile 
army on the north, and another advancing to effect a junction from the 
south, are now, by the publication referred to, spread before the com- 
munity in testimony of the wise and patriotic counsels of the fathers of 
our State. 

In pursuance of a similar recommendation, an Agent of this State 
has been sent to Europe for the purpose of obtaining copies of papers 
connected with our colonial history, who has already visited and explored 
the archives of the Dutch Government and the West India Company, 
and collected much interesting material in that quarter ; and, at the 
present lime, is engaged in accomplishing the objects of his interesting 
mission by the examination of the records of the British Government. 
France will next claim his attention, should the liberality of the present 
State Legislature equal that of its predecessors, by whom the mission 
has been so far sustained. 

In presenting to the public this brief view of the history and present 
state of the Historical Society of New- York, it is designed to awaken 
an increased interest in its objects. Although much has been already 
done, much more may be accomplished with even little effort on the 
part of its friends, especially towards enlarging its collection of original 
papers and documents, having reference to events of a public character. 



21 

or illustrating the lives of eminent men ; and it is highly desirable that 
families or individuals, in whose possession such materials exist, should 
look to this institution as the best and safest depository of those sacred 
reliques. 

Contributions to the Library are likewise earnestly solicited ; publi- 
cations of an early date, particularly such as partake of an historical 
character, are of the greatest value, as it is intended lliat the library 
of this Society shall surpass all others in works relating to American 
history. Individuals often come into the possession of books of great 
rarity, which, if placed in a public library, may become the means of 
diffusing important information, but left to slumber on a private shelf, 
afford no instruction or benefit to their possessor or to others. The So- 
ciety is constantly receiving donations of books and pamphlets to a con- 
siderable extent, and the number would doubtless be greatly increased, 
were a more general interest taken in this department of its labors, and 
the attention of individuals more frequently drawn to its importance. 
The most obvious mode of accomplishing this object is by inducing gen- 
tlemen of ample means to unite in the purchase of large collections of 
suitable works from individuals: as, for example, the American libra- 
ry of Col. Aspinwall, U. S. Consul at London, or that of Mr. Rich, also 
at London, or that of Mr. Warden at Paris, which are understood to be 
in the market. In default of accessions on so liberal a scale, small con- 
tributions are extremely desirable ; and it should be borne in mind, that 
books placed on the shelves of this Society are not liable to be removed, 
but intended to be consulted and used within the walls of the Library. 
A sure guaranty is thus given for the safe preservation and careful use 
of the volumes it contains ; and any one who possesses works to which 
he requires to make only occasional reference, would be able to do so, 
without having the trouble of their safe keeping, by depositing them in 
the care of this Society. By this means, a vast fund of historical learn- 
ing might be accumulated, subject to be drawn upon at all times without 
any diminution of its capital. 

New-YorTc, Fch. Ibth, 1843. 



OF THE 

IKI[SM°V@[S[K Klll©'iJ"©Ba©-a3:. ©©©QS'TVg 

Elected Januai7 31st, 1843. 

Hon. albert GALLATIN, LL.D., President. 

WM. BEACH LAWRENCE, Esq., ? vice Presidents. 
Rev. THOMAS DE WITT, D. D., S 

FREDERIC DE PEYSTER, Esq., Corresponding Secretary. 

Prof. CYRUS MASON, D. D., Treasurer. 

JOHN JAY, Esq., Recording Secretary. 

GEORGE GIBBS, Esq., Librarian. 



STANDING COMMITTEES 
ON PRINTED PUBLICATIONS. 

GEORGE FOLSOM, Esq., 
JOHN NEILSON, Jr., M. D., 
JOHN R. BARTLETT, Esq. 

on manuscripts. 
Gen. prosper M. WETMORE, 
HENRY R. SCHOOLCRAFT, Esq., 
WILLIAM W. CAMPBELL, Esq. 



Mr. GEORGE H. MOORE, Assistant Librarian. 



The Library is open to visitors every day, except Sunday, from half 
past 9 o'clock A. M. to half past 12 o'clock P.M. ; and from half past 1 
to 4 o'clock P. M. During these hours the Assistant Librarian is con- 
stantly in attendance. 



